The Winnipeg Jets made a couple of trades yesterday and while the long-term implications could take years to be known, the short-term implications are there already. When it comes to Paul Stastny, there is already an in-depth analysis of his play and the trade that brought him to Winnipeg. When it comes to Joe Morrow, just understand that he is a defenceman who has underlying stats that are like Ben Chiarot or worse.
When the Winnipeg Jets traded for Paul Stastny, they finally got the centre they had been looking for and upgraded the third line in a major way. It is probable that they never pursued Stastny before the past weekend simply because the was not available until recently. By getting Stastny, the Jets are getting an offensively gifted third line centre who should help the team moving forward. The fact he is no slouch defensively is a big deal as well.
They needed another centre as Adam Lowry has been injured for most of the games since Christmas. They needed a player who could play with Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers as they have been moved to the third line in hopes of finding them a centre that works with them better. Stastny could be that guy.
The Jets may have given up a lot, but they have a lot of good young players and are at a point where they have the assets to trade for players that help them in the here and now. To be honest, I would have been disappointed if they Jets had not given up assets to upgrade a position that they needed to upgrade. That’s what they did here and it was the right thing to do.
On the other hand, the Jets traded a fourth round pick for Joe Morrow. Yes, Joe Morrow was a first round pick, but he is essentially a Ben Chiarot incarcerate. It’s not good and ask any Montreal Canadiens fan about him and they will tell you while he can contribute offensively sometimes, it is not enough to make up for his defensive failings. In short, him and Chiarot should not see the ice in the playoffs and all will be fine.
What I really took away from this trade is Ben Chiarot is worth a fourth round pick. Who knew? Outside of that, Morrow might be worse than Chiarot and really I just cannot get over this trade even though it’s minor. I have weird hangups though.
The Jets had a solid trade deadline. They were able to upgrade their third line centre in a major way and find a player to replace Tucker Poolman in the press box. Kevin Cheveldayoff did the opposite of standing pat and it paid off in a big way yesterday.
